5 Steps to Prepare for Effective Divorce Financial Negotiations

Karen Sparks

By Karen Sparks | Aug 27th, 2018

If you are currently involved in a divorce proceeding, or if you are contemplating obtaining a divorce, you may often feel as if you can’t breathe because of the press of responding to the divorce storm, or thinking about what the impact might be on your life. At the same time, just as you are trying to manage your day-to-day existence, your divorce professionals and/or the court may request that you begin to make life-altering decisions. This can be very overwhelming and confusing for you.

However, there is a way to conquer this situation and to not only have a seat at the table but to claim and own that seat and, in the process, successfully build the right financial future for YOU.

READ ALSO: How The New Tax Law Will Affect Your Divorce Settlement

The entire financial path of divorce is similar to creating objects with LEGO® because there are so many different ways that you can link the pieces together to create the design that you want.
It is vital that you do not approach your divorce finance discussions as an out-of-body experience where you essentially place yourself on automatic-pilot and become consumed with just getting through the next meeting, the next court appearance, the next, next, next…

Instead, let us here discuss the five tangible approaches (P.E.A.C.E) that can help you organize your thought processes and focus on the strategies you must adopt to arrive at a successful conclusion to your divorce process:

1. Ponder, Prioritize, Plan

Before you can consider making any decisions about your divorce settlement you need to follow these three rules:

2. Educate Yourself

Education is key. Just simply taking a position and making a demand is of no value unless you have reviewed and understood the data that backs up your position. As a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®, one of the key strategies that I go through with my clients is helping them to understand the various data points connected with their marital financial portfolio and what those points look like in various projections over different periods of time.

3. Ask Questions

You have right to know what you don’t know. If you feel like there is something not quite right about the answer you get, seek other professional input to give you the assurance that you need. Remember when someone tells you that “it’s no big deal” or “don’t worry about it”, that is usually when your concern should be activated.

4. Compromise

Consider compromising on minor issues that do not drastically affect the three to five major points that you have developed for negotiation.

5. Stay Engaged

Stay empowered and engaged. You really CAN do this! Your next best life is right around the corner from a successful negotiation.

Karen Sparks

Karen Sparks


Karen D. Sparks, CDFA®, J.D. is the principal and owner of Divorce Financial Strategists™. She provides clients with focused divorce analysis and strategies for marital assets.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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